Out of the Blue 2011 Newsletter

8/3/2019 Out of the Blue 2011 Newsletter

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bad news and good news

There will be fewer (IGCs) Independent Garden

Centres in 2012 than in 2011. This sounds troubling,

but it is in fact an opportunity for you to take

ownership of your local market.

John Stanley

Whats Newout of the bluewinter 2011/2012

10 STEPS TO A GREAT

GARDEN CENTRE

1)Have a good plan and stick to it.

2)Set standards of excellence. Communicate

your image with uniforms, cleanliness, positive staff,

efficient check out, great displays! Be consistent!

3) Hire competent staff and train them. Plantknowledge is not critical, but a good attitude is. You

can provide basic product training but you cant force

a smile. Remember:your staff are your brand! What are they communicating about you?

4) Provide services beyond what the customer expects. Have shopping carts in several locations, a

childrens play area, carry out service. Make people talk about you.

5) Develop your brand and stick with it. If your image is quality then get rid of those weeds under the

benches. What about curb-side appeal? Do people notice your business from a passing car going 50km.Your brand is more than your logo. Barton Grange (a garden centre in the UK) is now famous for its glass

urinals shaped like flowers. Theyre not selling them, but people are talking about them.

6) Merchandise to sell and be noticed. Identify end-caps

hot spots and vistas to maximise the impact of displays.

Use displays to give ideas and create WOW factor.Continue displays out in the plant area. Your target

consumer is the 35-year-old female (see favourite colors

below).

7) Have a fool-proof guarantee. I know what youre

thinking, but is the cost of a replacement worth losing a customer and potentially their friends

and relatives?Besides, your staff probably kill more plants than your customers.

8) Encourage feedback. Solicit customer feedback, some of their ideas may be gold.

9) Advertise and be what you say you are. Is the message you send through media consistent

with the message you send in store?

10) Search for and embrace change. Visit your competition and other great retailers for

ideas. Dont be shy about using these ideas.Karl Stensson, Expo 2011

If you would like the complete set of notes send us an email.

[email protected]

Plant Sales By The Numbers(Ball Horticulture survey)

What are you interested in?PERENNIALS 10.78% Vegetable Sales

CONTAINER GARDENING 10.64% SEEDS 27%SHADE PLANTS9.84 % PLANTS 73%

FLOWERING SHRUBS 5.78%Where do you get

What percent of flowers in your yard perennial info?are: ANNUAL 36% TAG 55%

PERENNIAL 64% FRIENDS 48%THE WEB 39%

Your Perennial Source for the Best Brands

Leucanthemum Sante

ONE DISPLAY IDEA WITH 60% APPROVALFavourite flower color among todays consumers:

PURPLE 26% PINK 18% BLUE 16%Valleybrooks best sellers for each color:

-Salvia Marcus

-Perovskia

-GeraniumRozanne

-LavenderMunstead

-ThymusPurple Carpet

-ArmeriaDussedorfPride

-Phlox sub.MillstreamDaphne

-DianthusNeon Star

-Phlox pan.Cosmopolitan

-Echinacea

-CampanulaBlue Clips /Blue Waterfall

-ScabiosaButterfly Blue

-VeronicaRoyal Candles

-PrimulaMiss Indigo

-Ceratostigma


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Anemone Video

Grasses Video

Pay attention to the 35 year-old woman

..shes your target customer. And sheprobably has kids.

If her children are HAPPY, she is HAPPY!

Ideas for HAPPY kids.

1) Have a playground, sandbox, toy area.Think Ikea ballroom or McDonalds playplace.

2) Consider a childrens category with little tools, bug eatingplants, cool seeds, tasty ediblesanything a kid might want

merchandised in a colourful KIDS section of your store.Think Chapters.

3) Have a treasure chest of dollar store trinkets kids canchoose from. Think Swiss Chalet.

4) Set aside a small area with a wheelbarrow of soil someold pots and a tray of extra plugs. Allow the little ones to pot

up a plant to bring home.

All these will have the kids asking Can we go back tothat store?

Valleybrook on Video

Valleybrook Gardens has a starringrole in plant videos hosted byGarden Making magazine.

To watch visit

www.gardenmaking.com


15 is the new 50

Can anyone tell the difference between 50 Heucheras, let alone decide on one?

Have your staff pick their 3-4 favourites from each colour group and make that your range for the season. Carry several trays of eachtype to maximize bench impact. Customers will notice and choosing will be easier and therefore more likely.

Our favourites are:

Berry Smoothie Tiramisu Midnight Rose Ginger Peach Obsidian Lime Marmalade Frosted Violet

Want to $ELLMore Stuff ?

Give all your staff training on your top sellers. Everyone onyour team should know when

and how to apply nematodes,the best product and time tospray for Euonymus scale andthe top 5 or 10 perennials forshade. These are commonproblems that ALL garden centrestaff need to be able to providesolutions for.

IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTDont just communicate thesolution, take the customer to itand place it in their hand.

$ALE

2012201220122012 PERENNIAL OF THE YEARPERENNIAL OF THE YEARPERENNIAL OF THE YEARPERENNIAL OF THE YEAR

BRUNNERABRUNNERABRUNNERABRUNNERA JACKJACKJACKJACK FROSTFROSTFROSTFROST


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Moving the

MerchandiseNot every product that stays on the shelf alittle too long is necessarily a dog. The wayyoure trying to sell it may need a littlerethinking.

CHALLENGE: How do you get slow-moving

merchandise moving again, without resortingimmediately to a margin-busting price cut?

SOLUTION: Stauffers of Kissel Hill takes amulti-step approach. There could be a number ofreasons why something isnt selling, so they takea number of steps before marking it down.

1) Move it! Location is key, perhaps a moreprominent display will get noticed.

2) Sign it! Better signage may catch thecustomers eye.

3) Remerchandise it!An entirely new lookmay do the trick.

4) Price it!Ok they cant all be winners. Get itout the door and make room for something new.

Source: Todays Garden Center

Lets Have Some Fun Next Spri

We have come up with some great whims

posters to help you merchandise perenn

Posters are FREE with a minimum or

For more information on the po

program contact your sales consult

The order deadline for the program is February 15 2

BAD COMPANIES ARE DESTROYED BY A CRISIS

GOOD COMPANIES SURVIVE A CRISIS

GREAT COMPANIES ARE IMPROVED BY A CRISIS

Who has the Market?Nearly half of all garden sales in North America go through mass merchants.That means more than half still come from IGCs. WHY?

ExperienceConsumers still prefer to support local versus national companies. The paramount expectation ofgardening consumers is to have the best garden retail experience with the best range of plants. The

modern consumer is time and knowledge poor, but with a high expendable income. They are

looking for an entertaining retail experience rows of merchandise wont do it! You need toWOW them. A good retail store invites exploration. Displays lead the consumer deep into the

store. Remember that the purpose of a store is to foster customer-merchandise interaction.

The longer you can keep them interested, the more likely they will buy.

EducationIGCs are positioned to out-teach the mass merchants and retain market share. Consumers need tobe shown ways to use your products. They need quick ideas and solutions that work. Merchandise

your displays accordingly. Your staff dont need to be plant experts, but they do need to be aware

of the seasonality of this industry. Consider staff training at key intervals to bring them up to speedon the hot-ticket items.

If you are fortunate to have a plant

champion on staff, advertise thatfact with signs throughout the store

featuring a picture of the employee

and their top choices: PaulasPicks or something along those

lines. Consumers are looking to

build a relationship and this willopen the doors.

A great way to educate is with

stories, like that of the ITOH peonywhere after decades of work the

breeder died before seeing the result

of his work in bloom. People

remember stories better than they do data and facts.

Product RangeMany large garden centres have expanded into many

product ranges, but the core product is plants.

Thats what consumers expect to find. A good gardencentre needs perhaps 100 more varieties than their

nearest competition. A typical mass-merchant might

carry 300 different perennials. A good garden centre

should carry about 400. That offers sufficient selection

for most consumers and still gives you the broadest range

in town. Some studies suggest that the 1000 plus varietiescarried by typical garden centres can be overwhelming for

consumers. Remember: you can still offer to order any plants

that are not in stock to cater to the collector. The right mix isof course unique to each store, but these are generalized industry

guidelines.

Consumers also expect to find the new and different. Incorporating new plants intothe mix is important, but you dont need to stock every new plant. Pick ones your

staff are excited about, they will sell more of them.

John Stanley

Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.



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Heritage Perennials is a premium line of hardy

plants, grasses and ferns. Your customers will

love the selection of new varieties (150 for

2012), old fashioned favourites and unusual

gems. 1000 varieties in all. These are famous

for the blue pot and consistent quality.

These fun plants are durable perennials

with a low, spreading habit. They are

perfect for use as a groundcover, lawn

substitute, pathways or edging. Some

will even tolerate foot traffic. Set up a

display with the P.O.P. material and its

sure to attract attention.

This collection of Alpine Plants is popular with

gardeners. Unusual varieties are perfect for

Rock Gardens, shallow planters, or anywhere

that the soil is well-drained.

BlackandAmber shades will continue to

be HOT in 2012.Canadian Garden Centre

Heuchera Caramel & Black Mondo Grass

Mighty Matos are a new product for

the home vegetable grower. These are

heirloom varieties grafted on more

vigorous root-stock resulting in 2-4

times the yield. Plus theyre more

disease resistant and less sensitive to

heat and cold.

PANTONE TRENDING COLORS 2012TANGERINE BELLFLOWER COCKATOO CABARET DRIFTWOOD

www.perennials.com

New look coming soon

BEFORE

Flexible people never getbent out of shape!

Visit www.pantone.com for the complete palette.

Perennial Brand Power From Valleybrook Gardens

AFTER

Forever Young Society

The biggest spenders in the garden segment are baby boomers.

And while many are downsizing, they want to stay active.Think about ways to promote the health benefits of gardening.

Why Buy From Valleybrook?

QUALITY: Our products are shipped retail ready. That means

plants fill the pot, are properly labeled and weed free.

EXCLUSIVITY: Our brands are only available to the I.G.C. Youwont find them at mass merchants.

P.O.P.: Professional signage, brochures and bench-wrap are

available to support the brands and increase sales.

STAFF: With over 30 years combined retail experience, our sales

team understands retail Garden Centers.

SHIPPING: Our courteous drivers deliver weekly throughout

Ontario and the northeastern U.S.

WEB SITE: www.perennials.com is getting a new look for 2012. It

is a gardeners favorite with 1,000,000 visits and 4,600,000 page

views a year. A dealer locator feature directs customers to your

store.

PRE-PRICING: Put the product where it belongs, on the salesfloor, not in the warehouse waiting for a price sticker.

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Out of the Blue 2011 Newsletter

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